Lechería, Venezuela

I have to take you to my second home town in Venezuela.

Most of the people (even here in Venezuela) say ‘I’m going to Puerto La Cruz‘ when they actually mean ‘I’m going to Lecheria‘, unless you are actually going to Puerto La Cruz (where the ferry port is located).

Lecheria is a small city located between Barcelona (the capital of Anzoategui state) and Puerto La Cruz (another city in this state). The three of them are very close to each other, that people can barely distinguish which city are they in. Most of the nice hotels, a colorful mall, houses by the canals (and actually some on the canals), stores and more, you’ll find them in Lecheria.

I see this city as a small Venice version, although in this one you can drive (by the way, one of the things I hate from this area: the traffic). You can get by car or by boat to many houses, hotels or even shopping malls. Lecheria is known as a touristic area because of its constructions, the canals and I believe it’s more secure than the neighbors cities.

Houses by the canals

Even when it is a small town, there are lots of activities to do and enjoy for a good vacation. I actually remember, once, we met some guys from Norway in Margarita Island, their next stop was going to be another place in Venezuela, but we took them around Lecheria (before they left) and they wanted to stay longer. They skipped the other town (don’t remember which one) and stayed for a week. They loved it!

You have the biggest mall in the area and hard to miss. Plaza Mayor is a large colorful shopping center, by the canals, which offers you many restaurants, bars, cafes, stores of everything, a small amusement park (specially for kids, although we had fun with the Norwegians riding the roller coaster), a square and many other things. From this mall, you can actually take one of the many tours they have to visit some of the Mochima National Park beaches (which it’s a must!)

Boats at Plaza Mayor mall

You also have beaches in Lecheria without taking a boat. Although, not my personal favorites. By dawn, you can visit Lido beach and enjoy the kite-surfers taking the wind and waves.

One of the nice things about this town, by the canals area, you have a very wide sidewalk for you to ride a bike, rollerblade, walk or jog. I suggest you to do it earlier in the morning or by sunset because the sun can be very very bright and burning. This is a very hot and humid city. Just, by now, be careful, it’s sad to say (it makes me very angry) but even when it’s more secure than Barcelona o Puerto La Cruz, it is still Venezuela.

Another great option, I love doing this, is visiting Cerro El Morro. I believe you can see this hill from any point in Lecheria, maybe not from everywhere, but almost. You have 2 roads to take. From both, you can appreciate a beautiful view to the city (you can see part of Puerto La Cruz and Barcelona too) and the Anzoategui side of the Mochima National Park. There are always people on top of the mountain enjoying the view to the ocean, some drinking and listening to music. To the right is usually more crowded than the way to the left. There are people that climb the hill as exercises with their bikes or just jogging. And, the top is even a point to jump for paragliding.

From El Morro

Looking for art and more culture while in Lecheria? Visit a very unique structure, the Dimitrius Demu Museum. Hard to miss, it is located in the main avenue and it has the shape of an eye.

About the nightlife I can tell you a lot. However, this is one of the things that is always changing. I can’t tell you about an specific spot to go because it might be closed or with a different name by the time you are visiting. One thing for sure, there are many restaurants, sport bars and nice hangouts for your entertainment. Just let me know if you would like to get to know about nightlife in Lecheria and I will tell you what’s new, what’s open and what’s good at the moment. Another thing I can tell you, local people love to have fun and dance a lot!

Remember this is my 2nd home town, so feel free to ask me anything about Lecheria, Barcelona or Puerto La Cruz at any time. You can watch AT29‘s video about Lecheriahere, although we haven’t add subtitles yet.